Collaring lynx for scientific purposes

Within the BLRP project, our partner MES in North Macedonia is collaring Balkan lynx to gain deeper insights into habitat use and movement patterns of this endangered subspecies. The GPS collars provide crucial information on how these elusive animals traverse their habitats. Since the start of the project, 15 individuals have delivered valuable data through their collars.

Krle © MESKrle © MES

Krle © MES

Zora

Zora is our 15th captured Balkan lynx in North Macedonia, collared in April 2025. Radio-telemetry shows that she roams the forests of the country’s western region. Weighing 15.5 kg at the time of capture, she is a strong and capable predator – with a particular taste for roe deer.

Luna

Beautiful Luna was captured in the winter of 2024, fittingly under a full moon. Although her collar is no longer active (it stopped transmitting this summer after about one and a half years), we gathered enough high-quality data to detect meaningful patterns. One GPS cluster turned out to be especially rewarding: a potential den site. And indeed, this summer we confirmed that she had given birth to a fluffy kitten – and we even have photos to prove it.

Krle

Krle was heavily infested with ticks at his capture in March 2024, but he seems to be doing very well now. He hunts roe deer successfully and even meets up with females from time to time. Telemetry data revealed a summer rendezvous with Zora at the forest edge. Such meet-ups are rare, as lynxes are territorial, but male-female interactions occur more frequently, especially when their home ranges overlap.

How the GPS Collars Work

The collars typically function for one to two years, collecting valuable data throughout that period. Collars can be located, retrieved and reused. When the battery reaches the end of its life, an integrated ‘drop-off’ mechanism ensures that the collar detaches automatically after a set period.

Back